Celtic Three Clear As Barca Bhoys Yearn For Glasgow

Inverness CT 1 Celtic 2

By Tony Quinn

Two goals in the second half from Scott Brown and Glen Loovens helped Celtic to victory on Saturday as they beat Inverness Calley Thistle 2-1 to move three points clear at the top of the SPL. Celtic's win means they are now three points clear of Rangers, whose scheduled game against Dundee Utd at Ibrox was postponed as a mark of respect to United's owner-chairman, Eddie Thompson, who died last Wednesday after a long fight against cancer.

Barcelona defender Sylvinho has admitted he would be interested in a move to Celtic. The 34-year-old former Arsenal full-backsaid: "If there was an official offer, and we could agree terms, then I would be very, very excited about a move to Glasgow. If there are people at Celtic who think well of me as a footballer, then I'm pleased. I still have a really good relationship with Barcelona and I love it here. But I have still got a lot to offer in football terms on the pitch, not just as a squad member. Let's just wait and see what happens."

And Barca's Venezuelan-born winger Jeffren Suarez is also said to be interested in a move to Celtic. He has yet to make his La Liga debut and is being tipped to make a January switch to Parkhead. "I have some chances to play for Celtic and it would be an excellent destination," he said. "I have spoken with Marc (Crosas) and he told me that there is an excellent atmosphere at the club in all aspects." Suarez's agent is his father and he added: "We have spoken with Barca and (Pep) Guardiola and they accept he can leave. We expect more to happen in the next few weeks."

Celtic will play a charity game in memory of Tommy Burns. The memorial match is set to take place next May and will raise cash for charities nominated by Burns' family. "I've spoken to the family, and they are in the process of putting ideas together with regards to a charity named after Tommy for some form of melanoma support," said chief executive Peter Lawwell. "We then spoke about a benefit game and we are hoping that some time in May we would bring together a benefit match for Tommy, his family and their nominated charities. With regards to a longer-term memorial, we are looking at certain ideas. But it's too early to give any indication of that at the moment."

Celtic may also play in a charity match Croke Park confirmed Petet Lawwell. "What we would love to do - and there are clearly obstacles there - is to play in Dublin at Croke Park against top opposition and, we hope, benefit our own charity and other charities," he said. "That would be fantastic. The idea has been floated for the past couple of seasons, and we have been unable to pull it off but it's an ambition. It's something that would attract us."

Pavel Zavadil has reacted with shock after it emerged that Celtic have been watching him. The 30-year-old Czech midfielder currently plays for Orgryte, on loan from fellow Swedish side Oster. The former Sparta Prague and Banik Ostrava man has enjoyed stints in Israel and Greece before he arrived in Sweden in 2006. Zavadil impressed with Orgryte and reports say Celtic used the last game of the season to check on him. "What? They were here to look at me?" a shocked Zavdil said: "Celtic? I really can't believe it."

Meanwhile former Aston Villa striker Marcus Allback, who scored twice against Vasby Utd at the weekend to help Orgryte seal their promotion, is also rumored to be a target for The Bhoys.

Former Manchester United boss Ron Atkinson has praised the Celtic boss and reckons Gordon Strachan will leave Celtic and make a return to the EPL at some stage in the future. "I would think if certain jobs became available, and he let it be known he might be interested, then Gordon would have a real good chance. There's no doubt there'd be interest in him. I think he might fancy England again at some stage. He's not going to stay at Celtic for the rest of his professional career and he's too young to pack up because he's a football nut. I think if a job with a lot of potential became available he might end up back here. I don't think he would want to scrap at the bottom of the table, but I think he'd be interested if the right job came along. I know for a fact he's operated on a lot less in terms of budget than his predecessors did at Celtic Park, and that means he's done a remarkable job."